FATHERS RIFLE • C.Grimes

ೀ⋆｡˚ CHAPTER 34 ೀ⋆｡˚

rick slowly opened the barn door, peering inside with his torch, the rain poured down on the group as they waited for the all clear from him.

soon after, he gave a nod, letting the rest of them in. faye sat down against a hay bale, carl joining her soon after, watching rick start a small campfire.

judith sat in faye's lap, chewing on her fingers and staring at the girl. she couldn't help but see lori everytime she saw the baby, it hurt her deeply. she missed lori very much, loris death hit the hardest out of everyone she'd lost. she thought back to moments before loris death, when she promised to protect judith and carl. a promise she'd kept since the moment she made it.

she noticed carls head that sat comfortably on her shoulder got heavier, peering down at the boy, she noticed he'd fallen asleep. a small smile tugged at her lips, looking up meeting eyes with rick who had the same teasing look in his eyes that michonne did back in the church.

he gently took judith out the girls arms, holding the baby close to his chest as he turned back to the others. faye gently moved carls head onto her lap, silently praying he wouldn't wake up, she figured it would be more comfortable.

"i used to be sorry for kids that have to grow up now.. in this." rick spoke up, looking down at the baby in his arms.  "but i think i got it wrong. growing up is getting used to the world. this is easier for them."

"this isn't the world." michonne stated. "this isn't it."

"it might be." glenn said, poking at the ground with a stick.

"that's giving up." michonne retorted.

"that's reality." glenn bluntly spoke.

"until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with." rick spoke up again, trying to break the tension.

rick began to tell a story about his grandpa, faye tried her hardest to listen but exhaustion took over her, his words became quieter and slurred as she slowly drifted off, her hands still messing with carls hair.

although, her slumber didn't last long. the thunder got louder, the rain hit harder and the barn doors began to push in. faye woke up abruptly, looking over at the door where most of the group were holding it shut. she quickly slid carls head off her lap, causing him to wake up, running over to the door to help out with carl who followed soon after.

everyone pushed against the barn doors, their shoes sliding against the mud as they held the door shut, the walkers on the other side pushing it in against them.

that was all faye could remember once she woke up, she couldn't recall if it was even real or a crazy dream. she sat up, looking around the barn. most of the group were sleeping other than her dad.

she could hear faint chatter outside the barn, recognising the voices of sasha and maggie. she leant her back against the hay bale, drifting off into her own world.

around 30 minutes later, everyone else awoke and was now sat around in their own worlds, the only sounds being judith's babbles and the light chatter between carl and faye.

"hey." maggie called out, opening the barn door as she came back inside. "everyone.. this is aaron." she moved to the side, letting a stranger step into the barn, making everyone stand up and aim their guns at the man.

"we met him outside. he's by himself. we took his weapons and we took his gear." maggie reassured them.

"hi." aaron held his hands up in surrender. judith began to cry, as if she could sense something was up. rick quickly handed the baby to carl before taking a few steps towards aaron. "it's nice to meet you." aaron took a step forward.